Company description

Berkshire Grown supports and promotes locally based agriculture as a vital part of a healthy Berkshire community, economy and landscape. We are passionate about nurturing a sustainable and resilient local food system and cultivating an equitable and resilient county-wide food economy that ensures our Berkshire area farms remain viable businesses.

We pursue this mission by increasing public awareness of eating locally and healthily through education and outreach; by advocating for sustainable agricultural practices and public policies; by establishing local food and farm networks that include families facing food insecurity; and by promoting the growing and marketing of locally grown foods.

Job description

The Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market makes fresh, local food accessible for everyone in Berkshire County. The Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market is a collaborative food access program with the mission of bringing fresh, healthy local food to low-income and low access communities across Berkshire County. This program is funded in part by a USDA Regional Food Systems Partnership (RFSP) Grant.

The goals of the program are:

- support local farmers and food producers by providing a new wholesale revenue stream for their products,

- lessen food insecurity and improve equitable access to local, healthy food options (especially for those in remote and underserved rural areas),

- mitigate the stigma of using EBT/SNAP benefits and food pantries,

- improve community resiliency by diminishing our reliance on long-distance food chains.

The Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market Manager reports to the Executive Director of Berkshire Grown, and works closely with other grant partners in the planning and implementation of the program.

Responsibilities:

Purchasing, Inventory Management & Distribution:

- Work with local farms to purchase product for the locally-sourced Mobile Farmers Markets;

- Contract with Berkshire area farmers to purchase local produce, meat, dairy, bread, eggs and other local food items to stock Mobile Farmers Markets;

Responsible for creating orderly and food-safe storage system for products inside the cooler.

Relationship Management:

Collegiality is a key ingredient for success in this job, as the responsibilities and tasks overlap with other colleagues at Berkshire Grown and other local food access organizations.

- Develop and implement customer relationship management strategies to attract and retain a diverse range of shoppers across all payment categories;

- Develop and manage strong relationships and communications with farmers, program partner, and site hosts;

- Work with partner organizations Berkshire Bounty and Berkshire United Way to communicate effectively with volunteers ;

- Develop and implement best practices for creating an inclusive, stigma-free and welcoming market for a diverse range of shoppers.

Market Operations, Merchandising & Display:

- Design efficient and engaging market layout of market, ensuring all items and prices are properly displayed and shoppers can move around with ease and comfort

- Coordinate with Berkshire Bounty to ensure market vehicles are fueled/charged, cleaned, on proper maintenance schedule.

Invoicing & Reporting:

- Work with Berkshire Grown Office Manager and Accounting Department to track all invoices, purchases and receipts for payment, as well as incoming payment deposits;

- Work with Berkshire Grown Executive Director to prepare necessary reports and budgets.

Data Tracking & Analysis:

- Track and analyze weekly sales data in Point of Sale system to monitor trends, and adapt market purchasing and outreach strategies as needed;

- Prepare data reports to share with project partners on a monthly basis;

- Develop a discreet feedback option for shoppers to provide insight on their market experience.

Marketing, Communications and Outreach:

- Develop and implement marketing communication strategies to recruit, inform and retain shoppers across all payment categories and market locations;

- With Communications Manager, develop content to generate awareness and engage community on social media platforms.

Skills and Qualifications

· B.A. preferred

· 2+ years of experience working with local agriculture (first-hand knowledge of Berkshire farmers a plus; farmers market work experience a plus)

· Demonstrated experience leading a small team of staff and volunteers;

· Organized working style, self-starter with the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously while paying close attention to details;

· Demonstrated ability to work with a wide range of community-based organizations;

· Understanding of issues facing food insecure families for low income and low access areas of the community a plus;

· Commitment to actively working to develop racial equity and food justice in the local food and agriculture sectors of the Berkshires

· Excellent communications skills, both verbal and written;

· Competency managing inventory and Point of Sale System (Square);

· Fluency with Microsoft Office Word and Excel, Google docs;

Expectations:

· This is a year-round 40 hour/week position with the expectation of in-office work in Great Barrington and on-site work at Mobile Farmers Market sites during the summer/ fall market season.

· Operating a farmers market is physically demanding -- must be able to lift up to 50 lbs repeatedly, climb in/out of cargo van or truck for loading and unloading, stand for extended periods of time.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $50,000 - $75,000

Application instructions

Deadline

April 04, 2025